News Reporter

NEWSQUEST MEDIA GROUP; Reading; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional media company in Reading is looking for a digital reporter to cover engaging news stories. The ideal candidate will possess NCTJ qualifications and demonstrate excellent social media and storytelling skills. Responsibilities include writing quickly under pressure and utilizing various multimedia tools. This is a permanent role with flexibility in shifts.

Qualifications

• Outstanding trainee with relevant NCTJ qualifications preferred.
• Driving licence and access to a car essential.
• Some early/late shifts and weekend work required.

Responsibilities

• Cover breaking news and community topics.
• Engage with social media to discover and tell stories.

Skills

Excellent knowledge of relevant media law

Versatile writing style

Attention to detail

Ability to write and think quickly under pressure

Adaptable writing style for various formats

Skills in shooting and editing video

Knowledge of SEO

Social media skills

Great people skills

High level of organization

Collaborative skills

Education

NCTJ preliminary qualifications

Job description

Overview

News Reporter

Application Deadline: 24 September 2025

Department: Editorial

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Reading

Reporting To: Andrew Colley

Description

The Reading Chronicle is looking for a digital reporter to join our talented team. We are seeking an ambitious, digitally skilled and versatile journalist to unearth the best breaking news, features, leisure and trending stories on an incredibly lively patch. The right candidate will be delivering the sort of fast, agile, and dynamic coverage that our readers expect and deserve. You’ll be passionate about digital storytelling, with a desire to come up with new and innovative ways of telling those stories using a vast array of different skills, tools, and platforms.

Responsibilities

A significant part of the job will also involve immersing yourself in social media to help you tell your stories, develop relationships in your area, and discover what it is that gets your community talking. We want to tell the stories our communities care about – everything from what’s happening on the roads to the latest on crime on our streets and delivering the inside story of the people and places that make your towns and cities tick.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

Ideally, you will be an outstanding trainee with gold standard NCTJ preliminary qualifications and 100wpm or a fully qualified senior reporter.

A driving licence is essential, as is access to a car. We work on a rota basis with some early and late shifts as well as some weekend working.

You’ll also have:

• Excellent knowledge of relevant media law
• A versatile, fresh and energetic writing style
• Exceptional attention to detail
• The ability to write – and think – quickly under pressure
• An adaptable style to produce everything from live blogs and listicles to long-reads and features
• Skills with shooting and editing video, as well as online tools and apps for producing images and audio
• Bags of ideas for how stories can be presented in the best possible way for our audiences
• Knowledge of SEO and its importance to digital journalism
• Excellent social media skills and the ability to spot stories and trending topics
• Great people skills and the ability to get on with a wide range of people in the community
• A high level of organisation and the ability to manage your own diary
• Collaborative skills to pool ideas with the wider digital reporting team and take on board suggestions

Closing details

The closing date for applications is Wednesday, September 24. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, so please submit your details as soon as possible.

About Newsquest Media Group

We are a media company with a difference. We are committed to bringing a voice to your region by investing in a passionate team of journalists who proudly serve their communities by sharing authoritative news that readers trust. Our sales teams provide local businesses with highly responsive digital advertising and marketing solutions.

We are one of the largest regional news publishers in the UK and have a portfolio of more than 250+ local news brands and magazines online and in print. With an online audience of 41 million users a month and 7 million readers a week in print, our content is read by a substantial proportion of the UK population.

In addition to our local news brands, we own several digital pure play and specialist media businesses such as s1jobs and s1homes, Exchange & Mart, and Newsquest Specialist Media. We also own LOCALiQ, an award-winning digital marketing agency that specialises in driving more leads, increasing online growth and generating return on marketing investment on behalf of thousands of UK SMBs.